Pro-Palestinian ‘violence’ won’t change my stance on Israel, Biden vows

Joe Biden said that pro-Palestine protests would not change his stance on Israel as he criticised the “chaos” and “violence” breaking out across US campuses.

The US President, speaking at the White House, said he did not oppose “peaceful protest”, but condemned activists who have destroyed university property, intimidated Jewish students, and forced the cancellation of lessons.

“There’s the right to protest, but not the right to cause chaos,” he said shortly after an encampment at California’s UCLA was cleared by police in a pre-dawn raid this morning.

“People have the right to get an education, the right to get a degree, the right to walk across the campus safely without fear of being attacked.”

He added: “There should be no place on any campus, no place in America, for anti-Semitism, or threats of violence against Jewish students.”

Asked by a reporter if the demonstrations, which have seen hundreds of activists arrested at campuses across the country, had changed his stance on Israel, Mr Biden responded: “No.”

Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential candidate, claimed Mr Biden was failing to stop a “radical left revolution taking place” before heading to a New York court for his “hush money” trial.

Mr Biden made his intervention shortly after a clash between law enforcement and protesters at UCLA, when police dismantled a pro-Palestine encampment.

Officers stormed the university in the early hours of Thursday morning, arresting dozens of students while reportedly deploying stun grenades and rubber bullets.

Around 40 students made their last stand at the Powell Library in the north of the campus, where they linked arms as they were surrounded by riot police.

Some apparently tried to fortify their position by piling up metal barricades, pallets and traffic cones.

The encampment, which was the scene of violent clashes on Tuesday night when counter-protesters attacked the pro-Palestine group with fireworks, was left littered with collapsed tents and abandoned sleeping bags.

At least one police officer was injured from the confrontation with activists, a senior official told US media.

The source added that dozens of protesters had been arrested, and that it was not immediately clear whether any of them had suffered injuries.

Police dismantled the demonstration roughly three hours after launching their raid. Around 100 protesters, exiled to the edge of the destroyed encampment, chanted: “We will rebound.”

UCLA said classes would take place remotely on Thursday and Friday owing to an “emergency on campus”. It warned students to avoid the protest area.

Isaac Herzog, the Israeli president, said on Thursday that US universities had been “contaminated by hatred and anti-Semitism” following the wave of pro-Palestine protests.

Mr Herzog sent a message of support to Jewish students amid a “dramatic resurgence in anti-Semitism and following the hostilities and intimidation… on campuses across the US in particular”.

“We see prominent academic institutions, halls of history, culture, and education contaminated by hatred and anti-Semitism fuelled by arrogance and ignorance,” he continued.

“We watch in horror as the atrocities of Oct 7 against Israel are celebrated and justified.”

05:51 PM BST

That’s all for now

Thanks for following our live coverage of the student protests that have spread across the US. This live blog is now closed.

05:51 PM BST

Columbia: Occupied building is a crime scene

Columbia University has said Hamilton Hall, the building taken over by pro-Palestine protesters on Tuesday, is an “active crime scene” being investigated by New York police.

The activists were removed from the building and arrested by police hours after occupying it.

04:50 PM BST

Student journalists ‘take great personal risk’ covering protests

The Pulitzer Prize Board has paid tribute to student journalists who are covering pro-Palestine protests at campuses across the US at “great personal risk”.

It said in a statement: ‘[We] would like to recognise the tireless efforts of student journalists across our nation’s college campuses, who are covering protests and unrest in the face of great personal and academic risk.

“We would also like to acknowledge the extraordinary real-time reporting of student journalists at Columbia University, where the Pulitzer Prizes are housed, as the New York Police Depart was called onto campus on Tuesday night.

“In the spirit of press freedom, these students worked to document a major national news event under difficult and dangerous circumstances and at risk of arrest.”

04:44 PM BST

Biden dismisses calls to send in National Guard

Asked if the National Guard should be sent into universities to break up pro-Palestine protests, Joe Biden responded: “No.”

04:15 PM BST

‘No place for hate speech or violence’

Joe Biden continued:

04:11 PM BST

Biden: Protesters have been intimidating others

Joe Biden accused protesters of “threatening” and “intimidating” others as he declared that America was “not a lawless country”.

He said: “This isn’t a moment for politics. It’s moment for clarity. Let me be clear... violent protest is not protected. peaceful protest is.

“Destroying property is not a peaceful protest. It’s against the law. Vandalism, trespassing, breaking windows, shutting down, campuses forcing the cancellation of classes and graduations, none of this as a peaceful protest.”

04:08 PM BST

Pictures: Police storm UCLA pro-Palestine protest

03:56 PM BST

Biden to address protests

Joe Biden is expected to address the student protests in a briefing from the White House soon. You can follow the stream and our updates here.

03:03 PM BST

Police begin clearing Portland University protest

Police are starting to clear a library at Oregon’s Portland State University, which was occupied and barricaded by pro-Palestine protesters on Monday.

Those who do not leave voluntarily will be arrested and charged with second-degree trespass, police said in a message broadcast to demonstrators.

02:58 PM BST

How police cleared the UCLA protest – in pictures

Police officers took around three hours to clear a pro-Palestine encampment at UCLA early this morning, arresting dozens of protesters under the cover of darkness. You can see how the demonstration was broken up in our gallery.

02:46 PM BST

What happened to the arrested protesters?

Police have loaded protesters onto buses to remove them from the UCLA campus, following a practice used by officers at the Columbia and the University of Texas, among others.

A large gathering of around 100 demonstrators is continuing to chant from the edge of the cleared encampment, where they are being watched by police.

02:38 PM BST

Watch: Police dismantle protest in pre-dawn raid

02:35 PM BST

‘It’s going to get worse and worse’

Donald Trump claimed the justice department should stop “going after” him and focus on tackling the “radical left lunatics” at student protests instead.

Moments before heading into a New York court for his “hush money” trial, the former president said of the demonstrations:

02:26 PM BST

Reports: Police officer injured while clearing protest

At least one police officer was injured as they dismantled the UCLA encampment this morning, a senior official has told US media.

They added that dozens of protests had been arrested, and that it was not immediately clear whether any of them had suffered injuries.

02:22 PM BST

Herzog: Campuses ‘contaminated by anti-Semitism’

Isaac Herzog, the Israeli president, claimed that US universities had been “contaminated by hatred and anti-Semitism” as pro-Palestine protests swept across campuses.

Mr Herzog said he was issuing a message of support to Jewish communities amid a “dramatic resurgence in anti-Semitism and following the hostilities and intimidation against Jewish students on campuses across the US in particular”.

“We see prominent academic institutions, halls of history, culture, and education contaminated by hatred and anti-Semitism fuelled by arrogance and ignorance,” he continued.

“We watch in horror as the atrocities of October 7th against Israel are celebrated and justified.”

02:19 PM BST

Loud blasts heard as police cleared encampment

Police used stun grenades as they cleared pro-Palestine protesters from the encampment at UCLA in California on Thursday.

Loud blasts from the non-lethal weapons could be heard in footage of the pre-dawn operation, which began hours after officers threatened to arrest protesters if they did not disperse.

The standoff comes a night after the UCLA encampment was attacked by counter-protesters wielding sticks and throwing fireworks.

The demonstration is part of a nationwide college protest movement against Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.

02:02 PM BST

Trump: This is a revolution

Donald Trump claimed there was a “radical left revolution” taking place on student campuses before returning to his “hush money” trial this morning.

The former president, who is due back in court within minutes, wrote on his Truth Social platform: “This is a radical left revolution taking place in our country.

“Where is Crooked Joe Biden. Where is Governor Newscum [Gavin Newsom, Governor of California]?

“The danger to our country is from the left, not from the right.”

01:53 PM BST

Watch: Police use stun grenade to clear UCLA protests

01:52 PM BST

Remaining protesters gather by Powell Library

Much of the UCLA campus has been cleared of protesters, US media reports. Those that remain have linked arms in front of the Powell Library as riot police attempt to clear them.

01:23 PM BST

UCLA protesters ask for helmets, gas masks and knee pads – but no bagels

Pro-Palestine protesters embedded at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) have appealed for helmets, goggles and zip ties – but no bagels or coffee – amid a tense standoff with police, writes Ed McConnell.

Their encampment came under attack on Tuesday night, with “acts of horrific violence” reported by the university.

In the wake of the scenes, Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), who want the university to cut financial ties with Israel, released a list of supplies needed, some labelled “urgent” and all required to be “BDS compliant” – BDS, or Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions, is a movement shunning Israeli companies.

Headlamps, goggles, gas masks, skater helmets, shields, wood for barriers, knee pads and utility gloves “without reinforced knuckles, especially for small hands” were requested, alongside vegan and gluten-free food.

Read more here.

01:10 PM BST

US universities ‘contaminated by hatred, anti-Semitism,’ says Israeli president

Israel’s President Isaac Herzog has criticised US universities for campus unrest over Israel’s war in Gaza, saying institutions were “contaminated by hatred and anti-Semitism”.

“We see prominent academic institutions, halls of history, culture, and education contaminated by hatred and anti-Semitism fuelled by arrogance and ignorance,” he said on Thursday.

“We watch in horror as the atrocities of October 7th against Israel are celebrated and justified,” Herzog said in a statement offering support to Jewish students across these universities.”

01:04 PM BST

Sciences Po rejects protesters’ demand to review Israel ties

Paris’ Sciences Po university has rejected demands from protesters to review its relations with Israeli universities, its interim director Jean Basseres has said.

The comments came after townhall meeting with students that was one of the conditions for protesters to call off their demonstrations over Gaza last week.

Many were also asking for the university to cut all ties with Israel, and Mr Basseres said he was aware that refusing to hold such a working group could anger some protesters.

“I’m calling on all to show a sense of responsibility,” he said, urging all to allow exams to go on.

The elite political sciences university would work on how best to organise internal debate on major topics, he said.

“The last ties that should be severed are the ones between universities,” said Arancha Gonzalez, who heads Science Po’s School of International Affairs. The university already has rules to review partnerships, she added.

12:48 PM BST

Police make 90 arrests at Dartmouth College

Police in New Hampshire have said 90 people were arrested as they dismantled a protest camp at Dartmouth College.

Video from the university showed officers leading pro-Palestinian protesters away.

12:38 PM BST

What are the protesters’ demands?

Students have rallied or set up tent encampments at dozens of schools across the US in recent days, calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and demanding schools divest from companies that support Israel’s government.

In rare cases, university officials and protest leaders have struck agreements to restrict the disruption to campus life and upcoming commencement ceremonies.

At Brown University in Rhode Island, administrators agreed to consider a vote to divest from Israel in October — apparently the first US college to agree to such a demand.

The demonstrations across the country have been met with counter-protesters accusing them of fomenting anti-Jewish hatred.

The pro-Palestinian side, which includes Jews opposed to Israeli actions in Gaza, say they are being unfairly branded as antisemitic for criticising Israel’s government and expressing support for human rights.

12:29 PM BST

Protesters rebuilt encampment after Tuesday night’s attack

Demonstrators rebuilt the makeshift barriers around their tents after they were attacked by counter-protesters yesterday night.

By Wednesday afternoon a small city sprang up inside the reinforced encampment, full of hundreds of people and tents on the campus quad.

Some protesters said Muslim prayers as the sun set over the campus, while others chanted “we’re not leaving” or handed out goggles and surgical masks.

Others wore helmets and headscarves, and discussed the best ways to handle pepper spray or tear gas as someone sang over a megaphone.

A few constructed homemade shields out of plywood in case they clashed with police forming skirmish lines elsewhere on the campus. “For rubber bullets, who wants a shield?” a protester called out.

12:20 PM BST

Police begin detaining protesters

Police have detained several protesters as they tore down barricades at the camp.

Footage from the campus protest showed a handful of people being led away, with their wrists bound with cable ties.

12:12 PM BST

Pictured: Protesters spray police with fire extinguishers

12:08 PM BST

UCLA urges students to avoid area around protest camp

UCLA students have been urged to avoid Dickinson Plaza, where the encampment has been fortified.

“Police have ordered an evacuation of Dickson Plaza due to an unlawful assembly,” UCLA said in a safety alert. “DO NOT re-enter the area of Dickson Plaza & follow the direction of public safety personnel.”

12:06 PM BST

University urged to protect students from police

Police had been criticised for being slow to act during violent clashes late on Tuesday night when counter-protesters attacked an encampment of pro-Palestinian students.

“There is a large police presence from multiple law enforcement agencies after outside mobs attacked peaceful student protestors last night with no one protecting them,” LA City Controller Kenneth Mejia posted on X from the campus.

“Students now face police. We urge UCLA & City leaders to protect students, not do more harm.”

12:02 PM BST

UCLA to move to remote learning on Thursday and Friday

UCLA said classes would be remote on Thursday and Friday due to the “emergency on campus,” and warned students to avoid the protest area.

The sight of helmeted officers at one of the most prestigious US universities left some students dismayed.

“I don’t think we should have a heavy police force on campus,” UCLA student Mark Torre, 22, told AFP earlier as he surveyed the scene from behind metal barriers.

“But more and more, day by day, I think it’s a necessary evil, to at least keep safety on campus.”

11:49 AM BST

Pictured: Police move in on protest camp

11:38 AM BST

300-500 protesters remain in reinforced protest camp

Between 300 to 500 protesters were hunkered down inside the protest camp at UCLA, local television station KABC-TV estimated.

Around 2,000 more had gathered outside the barricades in support, it said.

Some protesters had been seen donning hard hats, goggles and respirator masks in anticipation of the siege a day after the university declared the encampment unlawful.

Empty buses were parked near the university to take away protesters who refuse to comply with the order to disperse.

11:34 AM BST

Pre-dawn police raid is latest flashpoint in protests

The pre-dawn police crackdown at UCLA is the latest flashpoint amid mounting tensions on US university campuses.

Protests over Israel’s conduct of the war in Gaza have led to clashes across the country.

The chaotic scenes at UCLA came after New York police burst into a building occupied by anti-war protesters at Columbia University on Tuesday night, breaking up a demonstration that had paralysed the school.

11:29 AM BST

Police begin dismantling protest camp

Police have begun removing barricades at a pro-Palestinian demonstrators’ encampment on the UCLA campus.

Law enforcement made a massive display, sending in columns of officers who were closing in on all sides of the encampment. Members of the crowd flashed lights in the officers faces and screamed insults at them.

Officers had threatened the protesters with arrest if they did not disperse.

11:27 AM BST

Police and protesters face off at UCLA encampment

Protesters and police were locked in a tense stand-off at UCLA as officers prepared to clear out a pro-Palestine encampment, Raoul Simons writes.

Scuffles broke out after several hundred California Highway Patrol officers in riot gear arrived at the campus in several buses at around 530am on Thursday.

Bottles and other items were thrown at police officers amid chants of “We’re not leaving! You don’t scare us!”

An order for protesters to leave or face arrest was repeated over a loudspeaker by an officer.

While some obeyed the order and left, a large number of others refused to go.

In response, police formed a line to prevent any more protesters from entering the encampment.

The stand-off comes a night after the UCLA encampment was attacked by counter-protesters wielding sticks and throwing fireworks.

The demonstration is part of a nationwide college protest movement against Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.